On November 5, 2008, the day after the election, the show was renamed 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.[4]

On December 7, 2008, Gregory was named as the new permanent moderator of NBC's Meet the Press, effective the following Sunday, December 14.[5]1600 was being hosted by David Shuster on a temporary basis until the naming of a new permanent host.[6] On December 12, 2008, David Shuster was named the official anchor of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, effective immediately.

On April 2, 2009, in the show's final segment, David Shuster announced that he had been given a new assignment and that he was going on to co-anchor a new show with Tamron Hall, airing 3-5 PM Eastern time beginning on June 1. As of Monday, April 6, 2009, a new show titled The Ed Show hosted by radio host Ed Schultz took over the 6 PM Eastern time slot. The final edition of 1600 (on April 3) was hosted by Mike Barnicle, a regular MSNBC substitute anchor.

The Briefing Room - recapping political headlines, as well as odd stories in the political realm, and beyond

The Grill - David Shuster interviews a newsmaker one-on-one

Hypocrisy Watch - Shuster usually points out whenever a person, usually a politician, makes a statement that goes against the previous beliefs of that person; Shuster ends the segment with the tagline, "That's hypocrisy... and it's wrong."

Muckraker of the Day - Highlighting one journalist or "muckraker" involved with a story that made a big impact on that day